Introduction
Below the cut, you will find the introduction to my Div 3 ("Shamans and Poets: Connecting Norse Mythology and the Kalevala"). Feedback is most welcome.
The northern shores of the Baltic Sea are home to two poetic oral traditions: the Norse myths of the Vikings and the folk poetry of Finland. The Prose and Poetic Eddas, collections from thirteenth century Iceland, are the most accessible sources of the Norse myths. The Finnish folk poetry is most widely available in the Kalevala, a poetic epic composed in the nineteenth century. At first glance, there would seem to be little connecting the poems of the Old Norse oral tradition with the poetry of the Kalevala. Linguistically, there is a solid barrier between the cultures: the Finnish language comes from a completely different language family (Finno-Ugric) than Old Norse, which-like English-is part of the Indo-European language family. If, as Georges Dumézil argues, myths develop only along the same path as language, there is very little room for interaction between these traditions (Dumézil 1973).
During my studies, I began to notice similarities between the Kalevala and the Norse myths. I first conceived of the idea for this thesis during a Norse Mythology course, but the professor rejected it as a final paper, explaining that there was, in fact, no connection between the mythologies. While I wrote a different paper for that class, I was determined to prove my point, and my Division III seemed like the perfect opportunity. Thus, you have the thesis before you.
A deeper reading and examination of these two oral traditions actually reveals a number of similarities between the Norse Myths and the Kalevala. When I began to research the similarities I discovered, I found that most of the scholarly literature available supported my professor’s position. Almost none of the scholars of Norse mythology I read mentioned anything about the Kalevala, and those who did dismissed it as unrelated. The Kalevala scholars were not quite as lacking, but even where they discussed the possible Scandinavian influences, it was not central to the argument. The folklorist Jacob Grimm, writing in the mid-nineteenth century, pointed out some of the surface similarities, but he offered absolutely no explanation. None of the literature produced in the century and a half that followed offered a satisfying explanation for the source of these similarities-if they mentioned the similarities at all.
The greatest similarity I noticed, and the first I investigated, concerned the magical techniques of Odin and Väinämöinen. It is relatively well documented in the study of mythology that Odin and Väinämöinen have shamanic aspects, so I was able to find a fair number of authors who discussed the shamanism of one or the other of these figures. However, none of these scholars seemed to have noticed that this shamanism was common to both of these traditions. Likewise, Loki and Leminkäinen each indulge in some feast-hall insult throwing. Here the similarity is acknowledged, though not really explained. I did find one connection that had generated some scholarly discussion, and that was the link between the Norse myth of the grotti and the Sampo of the Kalevala. Kuusi et al. and Siikala gave some explanation here, but they did not tie it into a larger pattern.
The above examples are just some of the similarities that I noticed. As I studied them, I sought to find a coherent explanation for their source. I discovered two distinct reasons for the existence of the similarities between the Norse myths and the Kalevala. The first explanation covers the shamanic elements, which I was able to trace back to the magic of the indigenous Sami people. However, many of the similarities cannot be explained by shamanic influence. For these, I had to turn to a later period in history. Over the six hundred years between the end of the Viking Age and the collection of the Kalevala, Finnish poets must have heard performances of the Norse stories. These poets must have incorporated elements from Norse poetry into their own oral tradition. This connection explains the similarities between Loki and Leminkäinen as well as grotti and the Sampo. Together, the shamanic influence of the Sami people and the contact between oral poets explain the similarities between the Norse myths and the Kalevala.
Before I examine these connections, I will provide an overview of the two bodies of work at hand. Chapters One and Two thus introduce the Norse myths and the Kalevala, respectively. This will allow the reader to have the background to understand the connections I will discuss.
For ease of presentation, I have divided the connections between the Norse myths and the Kalevala into two categories, and I will address each category in its own chapter. In Chapter Three, I discuss the shamanic images in each body of work, the main of these being the shamanic attributes exhibited by Odin and Väinämöinen. I also present an explanation for the source of this connection: the shamanic magic of the indigenous Sami people. Chapter Four addresses connections that are more stylistic, and I explain how these are the result of the adoption of Norse poetic techniques by the Finnish rune-singers.
Finally, I offer two appendices. The first is a chapter-by-chapter summary of the Kalevala, to aid the reader who is unfamiliar with this work. The second presents some of my findings on the significance of these two traditions to national identity, primarily in relation to the Kalevala.
In my studies, I have been aided by my ongoing studies of the Norse languages, though I have used the work of translators for the purpose of quoting. Unfortunately, I do not read Finnish, so I have depended on the work of several translators. In my analysis, I have primarily consulted two recent translations of the Kalevala: Keith Bosley's poetic rendition and Eino Friberg's more technical translation. Bosley tends to translate the names of characters, while Friberg leaves the Finnish name. Additionally, Friberg has kept the trochaic tetrameter of the original Finnish, while Bosley developed his own meter. To supplement these two translations, I have referred to W.F. Kirby’s pioneering 1907 translation and Francis Magoun’s 1963 prose translation.
This thesis has a personal connection for me. I myself am a bridge between these two traditions, being half Finnish and the rest equal parts Norwegian and Swedish. I do not mean to diminish the impact or value of either of these traditions, but instead to bring a perspective of unity to the academic scholarship. As someone who has a personal stake in both national identities, I have found it to be a fulfilling experience to connect them.
The northern shores of the Baltic Sea are home to two poetic oral traditions: the Norse myths of the Vikings and the folk poetry of Finland. The Prose and Poetic Eddas, collections from thirteenth century Iceland, are the most accessible sources of the Norse myths. The Finnish folk poetry is most widely available in the Kalevala, a poetic epic composed in the nineteenth century. At first glance, there would seem to be little connecting the poems of the Old Norse oral tradition with the poetry of the Kalevala. Linguistically, there is a solid barrier between the cultures: the Finnish language comes from a completely different language family (Finno-Ugric) than Old Norse, which-like English-is part of the Indo-European language family. If, as Georges Dumézil argues, myths develop only along the same path as language, there is very little room for interaction between these traditions (Dumézil 1973).
During my studies, I began to notice similarities between the Kalevala and the Norse myths. I first conceived of the idea for this thesis during a Norse Mythology course, but the professor rejected it as a final paper, explaining that there was, in fact, no connection between the mythologies. While I wrote a different paper for that class, I was determined to prove my point, and my Division III seemed like the perfect opportunity. Thus, you have the thesis before you.
A deeper reading and examination of these two oral traditions actually reveals a number of similarities between the Norse Myths and the Kalevala. When I began to research the similarities I discovered, I found that most of the scholarly literature available supported my professor’s position. Almost none of the scholars of Norse mythology I read mentioned anything about the Kalevala, and those who did dismissed it as unrelated. The Kalevala scholars were not quite as lacking, but even where they discussed the possible Scandinavian influences, it was not central to the argument. The folklorist Jacob Grimm, writing in the mid-nineteenth century, pointed out some of the surface similarities, but he offered absolutely no explanation. None of the literature produced in the century and a half that followed offered a satisfying explanation for the source of these similarities-if they mentioned the similarities at all.
The greatest similarity I noticed, and the first I investigated, concerned the magical techniques of Odin and Väinämöinen. It is relatively well documented in the study of mythology that Odin and Väinämöinen have shamanic aspects, so I was able to find a fair number of authors who discussed the shamanism of one or the other of these figures. However, none of these scholars seemed to have noticed that this shamanism was common to both of these traditions. Likewise, Loki and Leminkäinen each indulge in some feast-hall insult throwing. Here the similarity is acknowledged, though not really explained. I did find one connection that had generated some scholarly discussion, and that was the link between the Norse myth of the grotti and the Sampo of the Kalevala. Kuusi et al. and Siikala gave some explanation here, but they did not tie it into a larger pattern.
The above examples are just some of the similarities that I noticed. As I studied them, I sought to find a coherent explanation for their source. I discovered two distinct reasons for the existence of the similarities between the Norse myths and the Kalevala. The first explanation covers the shamanic elements, which I was able to trace back to the magic of the indigenous Sami people. However, many of the similarities cannot be explained by shamanic influence. For these, I had to turn to a later period in history. Over the six hundred years between the end of the Viking Age and the collection of the Kalevala, Finnish poets must have heard performances of the Norse stories. These poets must have incorporated elements from Norse poetry into their own oral tradition. This connection explains the similarities between Loki and Leminkäinen as well as grotti and the Sampo. Together, the shamanic influence of the Sami people and the contact between oral poets explain the similarities between the Norse myths and the Kalevala.
Before I examine these connections, I will provide an overview of the two bodies of work at hand. Chapters One and Two thus introduce the Norse myths and the Kalevala, respectively. This will allow the reader to have the background to understand the connections I will discuss.
For ease of presentation, I have divided the connections between the Norse myths and the Kalevala into two categories, and I will address each category in its own chapter. In Chapter Three, I discuss the shamanic images in each body of work, the main of these being the shamanic attributes exhibited by Odin and Väinämöinen. I also present an explanation for the source of this connection: the shamanic magic of the indigenous Sami people. Chapter Four addresses connections that are more stylistic, and I explain how these are the result of the adoption of Norse poetic techniques by the Finnish rune-singers.
Finally, I offer two appendices. The first is a chapter-by-chapter summary of the Kalevala, to aid the reader who is unfamiliar with this work. The second presents some of my findings on the significance of these two traditions to national identity, primarily in relation to the Kalevala.
In my studies, I have been aided by my ongoing studies of the Norse languages, though I have used the work of translators for the purpose of quoting. Unfortunately, I do not read Finnish, so I have depended on the work of several translators. In my analysis, I have primarily consulted two recent translations of the Kalevala: Keith Bosley's poetic rendition and Eino Friberg's more technical translation. Bosley tends to translate the names of characters, while Friberg leaves the Finnish name. Additionally, Friberg has kept the trochaic tetrameter of the original Finnish, while Bosley developed his own meter. To supplement these two translations, I have referred to W.F. Kirby’s pioneering 1907 translation and Francis Magoun’s 1963 prose translation.
This thesis has a personal connection for me. I myself am a bridge between these two traditions, being half Finnish and the rest equal parts Norwegian and Swedish. I do not mean to diminish the impact or value of either of these traditions, but instead to bring a perspective of unity to the academic scholarship. As someone who has a personal stake in both national identities, I have found it to be a fulfilling experience to connect them.